<p><strong>China's economic recovery: </strong>As most of the rest of the world grapples with a pandemic-fueled recession, the country where COVID-19 began is doing quite well. China's GDP <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/19/china-economy-q3-gdp-2020.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">grew</a> 4.9 percent in the third quarter compared with the same period in 2019. That's <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-54594877" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">slightly less than expected</a> but still an impressive feat for a country whose economy <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/16/business/china-coronavirus-economy.html%5C" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">contracted</a> by a whopping 6.8 percent during the first quarter as China shut down the entire city of Wuhan and halted most economic activity to contain the coronavirus. Can Chinese consumers sustain the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/china-economy-recovery-covid/2020/10/19/d574d08c-1204-11eb-a258-614acf2b906d_story.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">economic recovery</a> — until now largely driven by a massive government stimulus program for state-controlled firms and online shopping — by spending more on brick-and-mortar retail and services? In the longer term, we're watching to see how the world's second largest economy will deal with long-term declining demand for its products in many of its major export markets.</p><strong>A secret meeting in Damascus:</strong> The <em>Wall Street Journal</em> has <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/top-white-house-official-flew-to-syria-for-talks-to-free-u-s-hostages-11603058616?mod=hp_lead_pos1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reported</a> that Kash Patel, the Trump administration's top counterterrorism official, recently traveled to Syria for secret talks with an unidentified official representing the Bashar al-Assad government. If true, it's the first known meeting between a senior US official and the Assad regime since the start of Syria's civil war a decade ago. The US <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/07/world/middleeast/violence-in-syria-continues-after-diplomacy-fails.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">halted</a> diplomatic relations with Syria in 2012 in response to Assad's brutal crackdown on Syrian protesters and civilians. Patel's reported goal in Damascus was to win the release of some or all of (at least) six Americans held hostage by Assad's government. Trump's supporters will say this effort is a reminder that the president will talk with anyone to advance US interests, while his critics will call it a cynical last-minute attempt to boost his re-election chances. But we're watching this story, not to judge its political motivations or implications, but to see whether these talks can reunite hostages with their families.
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